To Hell With It
by ragnarsson
Summary: In which the daughter of King Harald meets the sons of King Ragnar, and throughout her journey faces the obstacles of romance, betrayal, and self-worth. Ivar x OC
1. Prologue

The young girl looked into the mirror at herself. For countless, she was like a goddess. A warrior; fierce, ruthless, yet beautiful all at once. It was hard to resist her charms, and she liked to use that to her advantage.

Her long brown hair was perfectly braided, something that she had taught herself as the years went by. Her eyes were surrounded by dark charcoal, an indication of the fire that was inside of her. She glanced at her reflection once more and nodded. Satisfied with her appearance, she headed towards the door.

Outside, there seemed to be no less than a couple hundred people filling the hall. None of the men seemed to take notice of her, all drinking, laughing and enjoying themselves. Iona calmly walked around the crowds of people. The gathering in the hall was organized by her father in order to celebrate their journey to The Mediterranean Sea. It was going to be her first journey outside of Norway and although she was excited about going the unknown land, she never showed it.

"Iona!" She heard from behind her, unsure of who the voice's owner was due to the many conversations filling the hall. Turning around she realized it was her uncle, Halfdan, and gave him a smile.

"How are you, my dear niece?" He laughed, handing her an ale-filled horn.

"I am well. Thank you, Uncle." She half-heartedly took it, taking a sip and wincing at the bitter taste that she still wasn't quite used to. "Where is my father? I have not seen him all day."

Her uncle drunkenly nodded towards the front of the hall, where her father was speaking quite seriously to another man. She gave her uncle a smile before heading towards her father, King Harald.

King Harald was speaking to the stranger with a sense of seriousness that she only ever saw when hearing him speak about his dream to rule all of Norway. Her eyes traveled to stranger, taking notice of the large scar on his left eye. They were plotting something.

"My daughter," her father gave a proud smile as she approached, "we have a few matters to speak about."

She nodded, sitting down in the empty seat next to Harald. She glanced at the stranger, but he seemed to ignore her, only paying attention to the King.

"What is going on?" She questioned.

Harald took a sip of his ale, no sign of emotion was on his heavily tattooed face. "I have decided that you are not going to be joining me on this journey to the Mediterranean."

She stood up, about ready to argue but was cut off before she could say anything.

"I need you for more important matters." He nodded at the chair, which she reluctantly sat back down in. "This is Egil, I have hired him to help me take Kattegat."

"What does that have to do with me going?" She said angrily, disappointed in herself for believing that her father would actually let her join on the raid. She gave Egil a dirty look, before once again focusing her attention on her father.

He smiled at Egil. "I need someone to learn of the weaknesses in Kattegat. They won't expect you to cross them, so I need you to stay there. Get close to the the sons of Ragnar and Queen Aslaug."

"But-" she started, before once again being cut off by her father. This was something she had been looking forward to for years. Preparing herself for this journey was not easy, she had trained and fought, she put so much work to make herself a proper shield-maiden.

"This is your chance to prove yourself, Iona." He warned, "I want you to show that I can trust you as both my daughter and my third-in-command. And if anything were to happen to me during this journey, I need to be sure that there is someone to care for our people."

She let out of heavy breath, realizing that there really wasn't much of a choice for her. As much as she wanted to go and explore the world, it wasn't happening.

"Fine. I'll do it." She chugged the rest of her ale, before slamming the horn on the table and walking away from the two men.


	2. Chapter 1

Iona felt the cold wind accompanied with the mist from the water blowing through her hair. Slowly, the village of Kattegat appeared larger and larger. Her emotions started rising as the boat neared the village. She was irritated at her father, but there wasn't much she could do. He was the authority, and she was nothing but a weapon to him. The selfish bastard only cared about himself.

Halfdan placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned around, giving a small smile. Her uncle was the only one who seemed to see her as family, unlike her father. Her father was a cold man, never even giving his daughter the least bit of attention that a child would need. But she learned to deal with it, knowing that her father had his sights set on one thing: becoming the King of Norway. He was a serious man and although to others he seemed friendly, he had a motive for everything.

"We've made it to Kattegat. Maybe you can finally find a man here." Halfdan joked, hoping to see a little bit of amusement in his niece's eyes.

She half-heartedly smiled at him, before heading towards her closest friend, Gunnar. The young man was a couple years older than Iona; but his family had always been loyal to the King, making the two quite close. Gunnar's father was a respectable figure in Harald's army. A couple of years after he passed away during a battle, Gunnar decided to follow in his father's footsteps.

Gunnar nodded at her as she approached, noticing her slightly cold mood. "Something wrong?"

"It's nothing," she shook her head, "just a bit tired from this trip."

"We can probably find someplace for you to rest before they start the celebration." He suggested, and she agreed, rest would be a good way for her to calm her emotions.

Once the boats were all properly docked, she did find a place to rest. The nap wasn't as ideal as she would have wanted but it was enough to restore her energy and calm her down for a bit.

Iona eventually met with her father and uncle, along with Gunnar and a few other men, who were stood outside of Kattegat's Great Hall. Even through the closed doors, she could hear the muffled sound of music and chattering.

"You took your time, Iona." King Harold scolded at his daughter, "Next time, don't make me wait for you."

She pressed her lips against each other, refraining from her stubborn attitude coming out, "Of course, father."

King Harald opened the doors, immediately coming face-to-face with a man whom Iona recognized as Bjorn Ironside.

"Halfdan, King Harald." Bjorn greeted, his questioning eyes traveled to the unfamiliar girl behind the two men.

"Bjorn Ironside, it's been a long time." Her father replied, his hand reaching the famous Ragnarsson's shoulder and patting it.

Halfdan took notice of Bjorn's gaze on the young woman. "That woman that you are looking at is my niece and Harald's daughter."

"Well, it is great to meet you, daughter of King Harald." Bjorn gave her father a questioning look, the wrinkles near his eyes showing his age.

She smiled at the man, used to the looks of confusion she got whenever she was introduced to a stranger. "Call me Iona, and it is a great pleasure to meet you."

King Harald never liked to speak to others about her, something that Iona noticed as she started to get more involved with her father's duties. Outsiders would usually never recognize her, something that she took to her full advantage when she helped her father take Rogaland.

"Come." Bjorn turned around and the three of them followed the famous Prince while the rest of her father's men went their own ways, socializing with the people of Kattegat. Bjorn took the small family to a table where food and drinks sat. His attention moved to the two brothers, who continued to speak of their achievements.

She took notice of the environment. The hall was comparably smaller to the one back home and although people were enjoying themselves, there weren't as many as there was at the celebration she recently enjoyed in Vestfold. Kattegat was a famous village, and for the way people spoke about it, she imagined it to be much more. For her, it was a bit disappointing how similar the place seemed to be to any other places she has visited in Norway.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was handed a cup filled with ale. She smiled at Bjorn before taking the cup.

"As for you, Bjorn." She watched as her uncle put a hand on Bjorn's shoulder before continuing, "I want to say we believe in you. We believe in this journey, and we believe that the gods are with you."

A bright smile overtook her father's face. "Indeed." The three men shared a look before Bjorn headed towards the other side of the room.

"Come meet my brothers." Bjorn walked towards the table with the three young men speaking quite intensely about something. To the right of the table sat a woman whom she recognized as Queen Aslaug, along with another unfamiliar man and a young blonde girl who was sat with her. One of the men, who looked to be the eldest of the brothers, was interrupted when Bjorn pulled on his braid.

Iona took a sip of her ale, trying to hold in her laughter.

"Ubbe." Bjorn introduced as the three brothers stood up, their heights taking even her father by surprise. Ubbe continued to give his eldest brother a dirty look. "Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar. Hvitserk is coming with us."

Her attention moved to the one named Ivar, their eyes meeting for a quick second before all attention was on her father who was now speaking. "I remember you. I remember all of you." King Harald pointed to the three standing sons, "But how you've all grown tall. You're not boys anymore!"

The three sons of Ragnar laughed at her father's words.

"I am so much taller when I stand up." The one called Ivar, who was sat in the chair next to his mother decided to join the conversation. Iona's eyes moved down to his legs whilst remembering hearing of this son, the cripple.

"I'm sure you wish you could come with us," Halfdan replied, fake sympathy in his voice.

It was silent for a quick moment before Ivar raised his cup towards them with a boyish smile. "Go to hell."

They all laughed, her father and Uncle quite amused with the crippled son.

"This is Iona. King Harald's daughter." Bjorn nodded towards her small frame that stood between her father and uncle, both of whom decided to leave to speak with a man named Floki.

Remembering what her father wanted, she decided to say and talk with the sons of Ragnar. She gave them a grin before seating herself at the empty spot next to Sigurd and across from Ubbe. "You don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

"No, of course not. Go ahead." Ubbe gave her a charming smile, pouring some more ale into her cup.

She accepted the kind gesture, taking a sip of it as soon as he filled the cup. As much as she hated the bitter taste, it was something she had slowly taught herself to deal with. The reason being that she enjoyed the feeling of being drunk.

"We did not know King Harald had a daughter." The one sat next to her, Sigurd spoke.

"He likes seeing people's reaction when they meet me for the first time. Many wouldn't expect me to be his daughter." She took another drink from her ale, her eyes moving to Gunnar who was stood across the room watching as spoke with the Princes of Kattegat.

"And what happened to your mother? King Harald does not have a wife that we know of." Sigurd questioned, she took note that he was the more nosy one of the brothers.

She forced a laugh, eyes traveling to the young man. "She is dead."

"How did she die?" Sigurd eyebrows furrowed, giving her a suspicious look. She just shrugged, not wanting to speak about her mother to such strangers. Whatever happened, it was her family's business and nobody else's.

"Why must you ask so many questions, Sigurd. Just let her enjoy herself." Hvitserk shook his head at the younger brother before giving her a sincere smile.

The time had quickly passed as she spoke to the three brothers about countless of things. She had gotten quite close to Hvitserk, realizing that they had similar personalities and sense of humor. She had also taken a liking to Ubbe, who was polite and seemed to be the more logical of the brothers. Then there was Sigurd, who could be alright sometimes but he didn't seem to know when to shut his mouth.

Iona finally emptied her last cup of ale, deciding that she was getting too dizzy for more. The time had passed by quicker than she thought, and she noticed the darkness outside as a couple of people made their way out of the hall.

Her eyes moved to the woman with light blonde hair, who was sitting next to Ivar before getting up and quietly making her way through the crowd of people and to the door. A couple minutes later, Iona also noticed Sigurd get up and head in the same direction. Even in her drunken state, she could tell that there was something going on between the two.

Iona took it as her chance to talk to Ivar, getting up and sitting in the spot where the woman had previously sat. The crippled man looked up at King Harald's daughter, confusion arising in his expression as he took in her rosy cheeks indicating that she was in fact, drunk.

"Can I help you?" Ivar asked, confused at the Princess who continued to stare at him, eyes moving up and down his body.

She ignored his question, observing him for a moment before finally speaking. "You don't look like a cripple. I expected you to look more, I don't know, weak."

"I expected a daughter of a King to be able to handle her ale better. But we've both been proved wrong now, haven't we?" He countered, taking another drink from his cup with a smirk on his face.

"You have a point." She nodded, quite surprised at the Prince's attitude. "But I chose to be drunk. I enjoy feeling like a different person."

Ivar's eyebrows furrowed at the girl, taking in her features. There was no mistaking her beauty, even a blind man could tell she seemed to be flawless. "So the perfect little Princess isn't so perfect after all, how tragic."

Iona chuckled, seemingly unfazed by his rude personality. Her eyes tried hard to stay open as she leaned forward. Ivar immediately held his breathe at her proximity, their faces merely centimeters away from each other. "You've got a lot to learn, Ivar."

After a couple of seconds of silence, she finally pulled away with a smug look on her face. Standing up, she grabbed the cup of ale from the crippled Prince's hand before downing it. She let out a burp while handing him his cup back. "I'll probably be seeing you a lot. Thanks for the drink."

Ivar watched amusingly as she staggered around the crowd towards the door, bumping into a couple of people before Gunnar finally helped her out of the hall.


	3. Chapter 2

For most people, parting from loved-ones was usually hard. Considering her father could have been sailing straight to his death, Iona felt she should have been more concerned.

It might have been because her father was a great warrior. For all, if not most, of the battles he fought he had the gods on his side. Or maybe it could have been the fact that she never felt as if he truly cared for her. She felt that her father only saw her as a weapon. Someone that was used to manipulate and bait others in order to benefit himself in the end.

"May the gods be with you, father." Iona gave King Harald a stiff hug as he continued to remind her of her duties in Kattegat. She nodded, already knowing what her father wanted to do.

Her eyes moved to Gunnar who stood behind them on the dock watching the scene, obviously waiting to speak with the Princess.

Iona gave Halfdan a quick hug and words of support before finally making her way to Gunnar. Gunnar was a lonely man, having his parents taken from him at a young age had caused him to isolate himself from everyone; constantly training to become a better fighter. The only person he was close to was Iona, who he believed was the only person to genuinely care for him.

Iona felt a small tug on her chest as she was embraced by her brother-like friend, a bit saddened that they could have gone on this raid together. "Don't die." She joked, making him chuckle as they pulled away from each other.

"Thank you for the great advice," he replied, "don't do anything stupid."

"Me? Stupid?" She scoffed, "of course not." They laughed together, knowing that the young Princess was someone who always made stupid decisions.

She gave him a genuine smile as he boarded the boat. They waved at each other one final time as it departed. Standing at the docks, she watched as the many ships got smaller and smaller the further they went.

...

Iona was sat at the table, unsure of what to say or do. Queen Aslaug invited her for food and the Princess, who had a weakness for anything that was edible, happily accepted the Queen's offer.

Unfortunately, she had arrived before the Queen did. Ubbe, Sigurd, and Ivar were sat the table, confused at Iona's appearance. An air of silence filled the room and Iona awkwardly sat there, unsure of whether it was because of her or if the tension was a usual thing between the brothers. For one, she didn't want to speak because she was embarrassed that the men had seen her in such a state the night before.

She woke up with a pounding head, wanting nothing more than to stay in her little hut and sleep the entire day. Unfortunately, she also wanted to make a good impression on the people of Kattegat so she regretfully got herself out of bed in order to send her father, Uncle, and friend off.

Queen Aslaug seemed to be running late and the servants weren't going to serve the food until she appeared.

Iona looked around the room, letting out a breath of air as her eyes moved between the three men. Ivar was staring intensely at her, something that she tried her best to ignore.

"You guys don't seem as talkative as you were yesterday." She addressed, breaking the silence.

"We can say the same to you," Ubbe replied, obviously amused by how uncomfortable the woman looked. "You seemed more confident yesterday than you do now."

She shrugged, "I guess the ale from last night had an effect on me."

"Oh trust me, we know." Ivar cut in, taking a drink from his cup. His eyes not once moving away from the Princess.

She bit the bottom of her lip, ignoring Ivar's never-ending stare. "I tend to have mixed feelings towards ale. Some days I'll avoid it and the next I'll be downing it as if my lungs were on fire. Unfortunately, you all witnessed the latter."

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything to scare us away." Ubbe laughed, "although Hvitserk was disappointed you didn't send him off."

"Oh, gods." She joined in on Ubbe's laughing, putting her face in her hands. She didn't remember much of the details from last night since it was quite a blur, but she took a quick guess that she did or said something to Hvitserk that led him on.

Soon after she conversed with Ubbe for a little bit, Queen Aslaug finally showed up and sat down in the empty chair between Ivar and Sigurd. Iona greeted the Queen with a smile, taking note that Aslaug appreciated the friendly gesture. Nobody said anything about her tardiness, so Iona thought it smart not to say anything either.

The servant appeared soon after, putting a large plate of meat in the middle of the table before going around and filling the cups with water. Iona recognized the girl from last night, whom she soon found out was called Margrethe. Her eyes moved to Sigurd, noticing his fondness with the young maid. She then took note of Ubbe, who would look at the girl suggestively every now and then. And she also remembered Ivar, whom yesterday seemed to act quite close with the girl. _Of course,_ she thought, _the brothers use her for company._

Queen Aslaug wiped her mouth as she watched Iona take a bite of the food, giving her a smile. "How is the food?"

Iona nodded, pleased with it. "It's delicious, thank you for inviting me to join you."

"If you don't mind me asking, Iona, why didn't you go to the Meditteranean with your father? Or maybe stay in Vestfold or any of your newly conquered villages?" The Queen asked, curiosity showing in her face.

Iona took a drink from her cup before answering, an excuse for her to brainstorm something for the Queen. "I've always wanted to go to Kattegat since I was young. The stories I have heard about the village and how it has become such an important location for trading, it seemed like a great place. My father said that I could either go on the raid with him or stay in Norway and do whatever I wanted to. I decided it was time for me to witness life on my own, so I chose the latter."

She nodded, quite satisfied with Iona's answer. They continued speaking about her life, the brothers joining in on the conversation every now and then. Fortunately, though, the Queen knew when to stop with the questions.

Aslaug stood up once she was done with her food, ready to leave the room. "Hopefully Sigurd and Ubbe can show you around the village once they've finished their food."

"Why am I not allowed to show her around, mother?" Ivar asked his mother in an offended tone, his face contorting to anger when his mother ignored his question.

She simply gave one final smile to the four of them, used to Ivar's attitude, before leaving to the back of the hall where her room was. Ubbe and Sigurd had gone soon after, deciding to meet Iona outside of her hut once she was finished with her food in order to show her around.

Ivar continued his intense stare towards Iona before deciding to speak once everyone had gone, "What is the real reason you're here, Princess?"

Iona froze for a quick second before chuckling. A fake smile appeared on her face, unsure what to say in order to get the youngest son's suspicion off of her.

"You caught me, Ivar." She said, defeat in her voice. "The real reason I've come to Kattegat was so I could find a man to have some fun with. Preferably a Prince." She added suggestively, not breaking eye-contact with the youngest son. It was always like that for young men, speaking of sex was a good way to change the subject. They were all horny bastards.

She decided to get up, making her way across the table and leaning against it. Ivar froze, the sudden change of tone in her words confusing him. Iona noticed his eyes get wide as her hands moved to her shirt, untying the top of it and pulling it down in order to reveal a bit her cleavage. Ivar visibly gulped, his eyes not once moving from her chest.

"Come on, Ivar." She got up from her seat and sat on his lap, their faces so close that she could feel his heavy breaths. "No one's here, I'm sure they won't notice."

He closed his eyes as the gap between the two slowly started to shrink, their lips barely touching.

Feeling the weight suddenly disappear from his lap, he quickly opened his eyes realizing that she had pulled away from him.

"I just remembered I had to do something." Iona faked disappointment. Ivar clenched his jaw, his eyes on the girl that had just made him feel so weak. She made her way towards the door, giving him one final smirk before exiting the hall.

Once outside, she noticed the line of people that were excitedly stood there waiting for something. She pushed her way through the crowd, noticing Ubbe and Sigurd angrily speaking with an old man about something in the front. She observed the situation, noticing the immense amount of gold items on the table behind the brothers and old man.

Iona watched as the brothers tried to stop the man from giving an entire box of gold to a villager, which ended with the villager getting what he wanted. Ubbe and Sigurd angrily walked away, seeming to give up.

"What's going on here?" She asked the stranger that stood next to her, also observing the crowd.

"King Ragnar is giving them gold if they agree to join him on his raid to England." The man replied, obviously judging the people who would agree to it for mere gold. She furrowed her eyebrows after realizing King Ragnar was in front her, looking desperate to get people to join him on his raid.

Iona stood there for a moment before deciding to make her way towards the old King.

"You have to wait back there." One of the farmers protested, she rolled her eyes at the man and gave him a shove. It was enough for her to squeeze her way to the front of the line.

"What do you want?" King Ragnar asked. His eyes stayed on the strange girl, a sense of familiarity as he took in her features.

She gave the old man a smile. "I don't want any gold, King Ragnar." She could hear Gunnar's voice in the back of her head, warning her of the stupid decision she was about to make. "So when do we leave for England?"

Maybe this was her chance to prove herself. Perhaps it was fate that her father made her stay in Kattegat. For she could never have another opportunity like this, being able to raid with the man claimed to be descended from Odin himself, the famous Ragnar Lothbrok.


	4. Chapter 3

The sounds of weapons clashing against each other filled the forest, grunts mixing with the rustling of the trees. Iona stumbled back as Sigurd's axe made contact with her shield. Quickly regaining her balance, she swung her sword at his feet. He tried avoiding her attack by jumping away from her, only to lose his footing and fall onto his back with a thump. Iona threw her shield onto the ground before kicking the axe out of Sigurd's hand, watching it fly a few feet away into the dirt. She grabbed the sword with both hands, causing the young Prince to flinch as she aimed towards his head.

"I win." Iona raised an eyebrow at Sigurd, who slowly opened his eyes to see her sword in the grass beside his head. She extended her hand, attempting to help him off of the ground.

Sigurd accepted her gesture, getting up and giving her a scowl. "I went easy on you."

"Of course you did, Sigurd." She said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at the blonde boy, used to his ego by now.

Iona grabbed a cup, filling it with water before chugging it down to cool herself off. She watched as Sigurd grabbed a bow-and-arrow, aiming it at the animal's head and shooting it right between the eyes. Iona nodded in approval, watching as he accurately made arrow after arrow.

"Do you want to try?" Sigurd asked, about to hand her his bow before stopping when she shook her head.

"Shooting is not one of my talents, trust me." She chuckled, "I'm more of a throwing person."

"Well then, I guess I win." He mocked, proud of himself for being able to do something someone else couldn't.

Iona scoffed at his cocky attitude before grabbing one of her own small knives and throwing it at the same target Sigurd was using. The knife landed between the deer's eyes, exactly where Sigurd's arrow was.

After a couple more hours of training, the two decided to head back to the village. The sounds of people chattering filled the air as they made their way back. Iona said goodbye to Sigurd once they reached the village, deciding to go explore the city. As she walked through the crowds of people, she noticed Ivar leaning against a large rock. His blue eyes were focused on the people working in front of him as he sat there thinking to himself.

Ivar was still a bit angry about the situation that had happened between the two. He was angry at himself, for showing such weakness towards a woman he had just met. But he was also angry at Iona, who was the cause of all these foreign emotions going through his head.

Iona was a princess, the daughter of an untrustworthy king at that. Many of the men would agree that her beauty was hard to resist, but nobody really knew where she came from, or whether or not she was a threat. That was what made her truly dangerous.

The prince didn't seem to take notice of the brunette until she sat herself down next to him, their shoulders brushing causing him to snap out of his thoughts.

"Ivar," she greeted as he turned his head to look at her. "How are you, my favorite son of Ragnar?"

Iona was unsure of even why she had come to speak to him. She could have continued walking around and exploring the village but before she knew it, she was sat down next to him.

"Have you come to humiliate me again? Perhaps this time you'll do it in front of everyone?" She could sense the cold tone in his voice, obviously still irritated about what had happened the last time they spoke.

"I apologize for that. You were being rude without knowing anything about me, it made me angry." She genuinely apologized, feeling bad towards the crippled boy in front of her. "I can't even do things on my own without seeming suspicious because of my damn father. My only intentions are to do things on my own."

"Right." The crippled Prince scoffed, though his tone was less harsh than before, "You said you wanted to explore the Kattegat. Yet here you are, agreeing to go to England with my father without hesitation."

"Who could deny going on a raid with the great Ragnar Lothbrok?" Their eyes met and Iona gave him a shrug, "I'm sure you could agree with me on that."

Ivar did agree. He looked up to his father, someone he saw as a great man and king. Although he wouldn't admit it, he felt a bit grateful towards the girl for being one of the few people to assist his father without being bribed. Although he knew deep down that she had certain intentions for wanting to go to England, and he was going to figure out what they were.

"Have you not heard?" Ivar's eyes met her green ones, "my father is a loser. Nobody wants to raid with him."

No matter how much of a loser Ragnar was seen as now, Iona respected him. He was a true Viking, someone that she grew up hearing many great stories about. As a child, she always imagined going on raids with him and exploring new places. It was finally her chance now, and she was going to take it, no matter how risky it was going to be.

"I think he is a great man." She replied, only silence filling the air as the two looked at each other.

As much as Iona wanted to take her eyes off of Ivar's, it was difficult. She never took notice of it before, but something in his eyes intrigued her.

Ivar furrowed his eyebrows at the girl, his Adam's apple bobbing as he felt her never-ending gaze. "Why do you look at me like that?"

"It is nothing." She said, shaking her head. She rushed to get herself up, giving the Prince a small smile. "I should prepare for the trip, we are leaving soon."

Iona quickly scurried away, shaken up by how she acted towards him. Out of the many men that she had been around her entire life, none had ever made her feel the way Ivar Lothbrok did.

...

Iona sat in the boat and watched as the men prepared to sail while Ragnar impatiently waited for his son to show up. She let out a sigh, looking into the water at her reflection before seeing a figure slowly approach. Realizing it was Ivar, she stood up to get a closer look at the prince. A smile grew on her face after noticing him with a new pair of crutches.

Ivar made his way towards his father, getting one of the crutches stuck in the dock and stumbling face-first into a pile of sacks. Seeing Sigurd find amusement in his little brother's sturggle, she rolled her eyes.

Ivar quickly got himself up onto his elbows, deciding to crawl his way onto the boat instead.

"Hurry up," Ragnar said to his son. "We've got a tide to catch."

Ivar looked at his father for a second, before giving a grunt and finally getting onto the boat.

Iona sat at the end of the boat next to Ivar, whom had gotten sea-sick and was continuously throwing up. It had been a few hours out at sea and she spent most of the time sleeping or daydreaming. She felt bad as she glanced at Ivar, who was currently looking down and away from the water in order to prevent himself from throwing up anymore.

"I would be highly appreciative if you didn't throw up on me." She joked. A small smile on her lips as she attempted to make him feel a little bit better.

"No promises." He replied, giving her a weak smile before once again throwing up into the water.

Time continued to pass very slowly. Iona let out a sigh as the wind got stronger, her eyes getting watery from the pressure of it. Her hair wounded up a mess, even though it was braided tightly before. She let out an irritated groan as her hair flew into her mouth, struggling to keep it all tame.

Feeling someone looking at her, Iona turned to Ivar, who was leaning on the post while smirking.

"What?" Iona asked while giving the Prince a questioning look, her hair once again flying everywhere no matter how many times she tightened the braids.

He chuckled a little bit, a boyish smile appearing on his face. "You look a mess."

A sudden clap of thunder filled the air, catching everyone's attention as the boats started getting closer and closer to the dark clouds signaling the heavy storm.

The rain seemed to get heavier as the men panicked to get the sails up. Ragnar grabbed his screaming son and tied him to the mast, knowing that the crippled prince couldn't swim.

Iona stood still, unsure of what to do as the boat started tipping over. Holding her breath, she held onto one of the ropes as everyone fell into the ocean. She could feel the water slowly filling her lungs. Trying her hardest, she attempted to swim up to surface of the water but it was too far. Eventually, all she could see was nothing but darkness.

...

Iona felt a pressure on her chest as her eyes opened, greeted by the blue sky and the sound of the waves. Almost immediately, the liquid started coming up and out of her throat as she coughed up the seawater. She sat up and looked around, taking notice of King Ragnar who gave her a nod once he realized she was alive.

"Glad you could made it, your father wouldn't be happy with me if I got you killed." Ragnar said. His eyes drifted to his son who didn't bother hiding the relief on his face when seeing the princess.

Iona scoffed, "I'm not sure if that's true or not."

Although quite shaky from the recent events, she had enough strength to get herself up and walking. Her hands moved to her waist, happy to see that she had not lost any of her favorite weapons: her sword and small knives, but her shield was most likely washed up somewhere.

After meeting with some more of the men who survived the storm, Ragnar decided to find quick shelter in a small cave. He tried to make sense of the situation, noticing their lack of weapons and men. There were about fourteen people in the group thus far, much less than the amount he had originally come with.

Iona listened as a few of the men argued with Ragnar, blaming him for everything that happened and speaking of how he wasn't blessed by the gods anymore. They continued to pester him, only seeming to annoy the princess even more.

"Where is your army of revenge now, Ragnar Lothbrok?" One of the men said, a vile tone in his voice. "I'll tell you where it is. At the bottom of the sea feeding the fishes."

Ragnar stood up, about to say something before being interrupted by Iona who gave the ungrateful men a deadly stare.

"Since you seem to be so passionate about this, why don't you give us an idea then?" She asked the man, giving him a curious look. After being greeted with silence, she continued. "Exactly. Being sat here on your asses complaining will not help with anything. Just shut your mouth for once and let him think of something."

She sat back down, meeting gazes with Ivar who gave her an impressed look.

Eventually, Ragnar decided to lead them up a mountain and into a forest where they made camp. Nobody really knew where they were going, only following Ragnar since he knew the land more than anyone else.

Iona sat against a tree alone, isolated from the small group of people. Her eyes moved to the villagers, who were chatting and laughing amongst themselves.

The food given to her was enough to fill her up, and all she needed was sleep in order to restore her energy. She laughed at her stupidity, realizing how dumb it was for her to decide to go on a journey like this and expect to survive. She was lost, both physically and mentally. Not knowing whether she should be grateful that she had survived up to this point or angry that the Gods were stretching out her death.

She leaned against the tree, deciding to rest her eyes. The sound of a twig snapping caused her eyes to fly open, immediately grabbing her sword and ready to fight.

"It's just me." Ivar appeared in front of her, one hand up as a sign that he meant no harm.

She sighed and put her sword back down, annoyed at the small heart-attack he had just given her. "What do you want?"

Ivar crawled towards her, leaning against the tree and occupying the empty spot next to her "Well, I wanted to thank you for defending my father earlier."

"He's a great man. You're very lucky." She replied, her eyes closed as she took in the foreign air.

"Your father is too. Almost conquering the entirety of Norway." Ivar chuckled, a moment of silence passed before he decided to speak again. "That's why you chose not to go with your father, right? He told you to spy on my family in Kattegat."

Immediately her eyes jolted open, glaring at the Prince who only gave her a devious smile. The sudden change of attitude had confused her. "You're wrong."

"Don't worry," He whispered amusingly, "The secret stays between us."

Iona shook her head, faking amusement at the situation. He _was_ wrong because she didn't choose to go on this journey for her father, she did it for herself. "You shouldn't go around making such dangerous assumptions, Ivar."

"They are not assumptions if they are true." He said, refusing to break eye contact. Although he was a bit confused, he didn't show it. If she wanted to spy, it would have made more sense if she stayed in Kattegat and not straight to her death.

Iona smirked, moving her face closer to his. "And if you're right, am I going to be killed?"

Ivar eyes moved to her lips, finally breaking their staring contest. His breath hitched in his throat at her proximity. She lightly bit her bottom lip, moving closer to the point where they were barely touching.

He let out a heavy breath before finally grabbing both sides of her face, molding their lips together. Iona quickly responded, her mouth moving in sync with his and her hand latching onto his neck in order to pull him even closer. She softly moaned as Ivar pulled himself on top of her, his lips slowly making its way down her jaw and onto her neck. They both felt weak from each others' touch, forgetting everything that was going on around them. It was as if they were the only two people in the world at that moment.

His lips moved back once again to meet hers and she desperately pulled at his pants, hands itching to get them off. Ivar groaned at the unexpected touch but suddenly pulled away to stop each other from going any further.

"I-I have to go." He said, getting himself off of Iona and letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Ivar-" She started to speak but the crippled Prince had already crawled away without saying anything else, much to her dismay.


	5. Chapter 4

Iona laid by the small fire, her eyes closed. She was awake the entire time, unable to sleep. It was hours since the sun set, meaning that it had also been hours since whatever happened between her and Ivar.

The crippled prince caused her more confusion than she had ever experienced in her life. It was the first time someone had ever rejected her. All of the men she spent company with before never refused her. But Ivar was different.

Many would expect him, a cripple, to be weak. He proved that obvious stereotype to be wrong. The young man was strong in many ways. His skills were better than most of the Vikings in her own father's army, and he knew how to manipulate others. He was dangerous.

But it wasn't the confusion that had kept her awake, it was something that she had never felt in a long time: hurt. It was a foreign feeling, one that consisted of constant stress and worry over just the thought of him. His eyes that made her heart beat rapidly, his touch that made chills run down her spine, and his scent that made her feel butterflies in her stomach.

Her thoughts were interrupted when sudden grunts filled her ears. She let out a scoff, turning her body to face the opposite way of the noise, not bothering to check what was going on.

For minutes, she continued to ignore the sounds, thinking that it was just a couple of horny Vikings trying to get their needs fulfilled. But it was when she heard the sound of metal against metal that she jolted up, looking towards the area where the other raiders had slept. She could only see silhouettes through the thick fog, noticing multiple figures suddenly falling to the ground, motionless.

Realizing that someone was slaughtering them, she reached down to grab her sword. It was gone, along with the rest of her weapons. She let out an irritated groan, remembering that she had left her items down by the small pond where decided to bathe in earlier. Before even noticing, something had latched onto her ankle, causing her to fall over and onto the ground.

Her teeth clenched at the pain that had set in her back. Looking in front of her, her green eyes became wide as they met Ivar's blue ones. The emotionless expression on Ivar's face had struck fear into her while she wriggled underneath him, struggling to escape from his weight on top of her. Iona let out a shaky breathe when he suddenly aimed his sword towards her, pulling back on it.

He was going to kill her.

Iona winced as the prince started to move the sword closer and closer to her, expecting to be on her way to Valhalla soon. But nothing came. She slowly opened her eyes, looking down at the sword that was merely inches away from her stomach.

With all of her might, she attempted to push the Prince off of her but he didn't budge. His grip on the sword suddenly loosened, causing it to fall to the ground.

Ivar finally pulled himself off of her, facing towards the ground as he spoke. "Just go." He said softly, still refusing to look at the girl.

Iona only looked at the person in front of her, frozen out of shock that she could have been gone just a couple of moments ago. Her breathing got heavier as she looked at the traitorous man whom she had just witnessed kill his own men, anger filling her emotions.

Ivar's fists clenched at the silence. "Just go!" He shouted, pointing towards the trees, the opposite direction from where Ragnar supposedly was. "Go before my father kills you."

Refusing to die at the hands of a traitor, she cooperated. The sound of branches and leaves crunching against her feet as she slowly got up, wincing at the pain in her back from when she had fallen over.

"I'll see you in Hel." She spat, feeling no ounce of sympathy towards the cripple. Ivar finally looked up, watching as her body disappeared into the darkness.

...

The sound of the horses' feet pattering against the dirt filled the quiet forest. Iona sat in her small cage, leaning against one of the sides with her eyes closed. The sound of her stomach rumbling caught the attention of one of the Saxon soldiers, who was sitting aside her cage on the wagon. The soldier reached into his pocket for a small piece of bread, which he handed to the girl with a small smile on his face.

Since being captured, the Saxon guard was the only one who seemed to treat the girl with kindness even after she had killed some of their men. Feeling desperate, she took it. After being famished for such a long while even the tiniest bit of food was enough to fill her stomach.

It had been about a week since Iona separated from the raiders. Eventually, she ran into a couple of soldiers, whom she tried her best to fight off. They outnumbered her, caught her, and threw her into a cage. It had been a couple of days since they had been traveling. She took note that wherever the Saxons were taking her was quite far away, considering they still haven't arrived after such a long journey.

When she said wanted to explore foreign lands this was not what she meant.

Soon, the moonlight started to shine on the trees. The silence of the forest was like a lullaby, and Iona slowly started to drift off.

Feeling a sudden sting in her cheek, she opened her eyes. The door to her cage was now open and the soldiers gestured toward the ground. Although they were speaking in a different language, Iona could understand by their forceful tone that they wanted her to step out.

Iona cooperated, knowing that if she tried to stand her ground they would not hesitate to kill her. Stumbling once she attempted to stand, she tried her best to keep her balance, her legs weak after not using them for days.

There was a large castle in front of her, building structures that she would have never seen in Norway. The cuffs on her wrists were suddenly pulled, a sign for her to follow the soldiers into the large building.

Immediately after they arrived, the soldiers had thrown her into a cell. She let out a frustrated breath, confused as to why they were keeping her prisoner when they could have killed her. But either way, she slightly appreciated the fact that they weren't torturing her.

"Looks like I'm never getting out of here." She said to herself before finding a place to rest.

Iona was unsure of how long she had been in the cell for, it felt as if she was there for ages. Eventually, she even learned the name of the usual guard on duty, who was the same kind soldier that gave her the piece of bread. His name was Edwin, and he seemed to be quite fond of the Viking princess. Although they could barely communicate with each other, he showed his kindness by sneaking extra food into her cell every couple of days.

After being in the cell for so long, the young woman thought that she was going to die of boredom. There was nothing to do, nothing to think about, and nothing to look forward to.

To be honest, she just wanted to get out and kill Ivar.

The sudden sound of keys rattling had caught her attention. Iona watched as Edwin put cuffs on her wrist before gesturing for her to leave the cell with a supportive smile, the girl appreciating the Saxon soldier's warm actions.

She stood up and made her way out, her wrists being pulled on roughly as another soldier took her through the castle. Eventually, they made their way towards large, grand doors. Iona looked at the beautiful design of it, appreciating the art that she would have never seen back home.

After waiting, a couple of moments passed and a soldier finally came out of the room, grabbing the girl and leading her through the doors.

The soldier had pushed her towards the King while she looked around the large room. Iona's eyes widened once they met with Ragnar's, who was in a cage at the end of the table opposite to the Saxon king. Ragnar scrunched his face at her, obviously surprised that she was in front of him, alive and well. She finally decided to look over at the familiar person sat in front of her and to the left of the Saxon king.

Her heartbeat started to speed up once her green eyes met with Ivar's familiar blue ones.


	6. Chapter 5

Ragnar took notice of his son's reaction towards the sudden appearance of Harald's daughter, the look of both relief and concern that overcame Ivar's features once his eyes landed on her disheveled figure.

King Ecbert gestured towards the empty seat to the right of him and across from Ivar. Iona hesitantly made her way towards the chair, the chains from her shackles dragging across the floor as she sat down.

Ragnar decided to speak up, making up for the silence that came from his son. "You seem well."

Iona rolled her eyes in annoyance. It was one thing to attempt to murder her, but to speak to her after such a treacherous act? She couldn't understand how such men could easily turn their backs on their own people, a King at that. Whatever her father was planning on doing to the Lothbroks, she felt they were going to deserve after their actions.

"What gave it away?" The girl replied sarcastically. "Was it the restraints? Or was it my greasy hair? Or, maybe it's the fact that you're here having your own feast while I rot away in a dirty cell?"

Ivar felt goosebumps running down at his spine at her cold tone. Though he felt it was something neither him or his father deserved. He had spared her life when he was supposed to kill her. She should have been more grateful. Ragnar gave her a pointed look before turning his attention to Saxon king, who suddenly spoke up.

The two Kings continued speaking to each other in the foreign language. Considering how the two would occasionally look at her, she knew that she was the center of discussion but it was annoying not knowing what they were saying about her.

"The soldiers believed that they could have used you as a slave for their needs." Ragnar suddenly said, speaking to her in their own language.

Ivar sat up in his chair, bothered by his father's words. "She is a princess, Father. There should be no reason for them to treat her as anything else."

"I have told them that you are the daughter of the man that I owe a debt to, and King Ecbert has decided to treat you as a guest." Ragnar finished, ignoring his son's words. Iona's gaze went to Ivar, their eyes meeting for a quick moment before she turned her attention to the Saxon king.

King Ecbert motioned towards the door, ordering the guards in Old English to take the two teenagers back to their places. Iona nodded at Ragnar, grateful for the fact that he had defended her.

"Don't fuck with them," Ivar said as two soldiers went to grab him. He gave his father one final gaze before being led out of the doors with Iona following right behind him.

...

Iona sat in the corner of the room, watching as Ivar played chess with the unfamiliar Saxon child. She was grateful that the soldiers had taken the shackles off of her wrists and moved her to a larger, more comfortable room. But she would have much-preferred being by herself in a small cell than having to be near Ivar.

For the past few hours when the two were by themselves, even the soldiers could sense the uncomfortable environment. Although the time together was for a couple of hours, Iona felt as if it was years. The tension in the room just made time go by extremely slowly.

The door suddenly opened, catching the attention of all three of them. The soldiers came in and grabbed Ivar, forcefully taking him out without a world.

A small feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that he could have been in trouble, but she ignored it, putting her trust into the Saxons who promised to treat her and Ivar as guests.

Alfred suggested for her to take Ivar's place in chess and she gently declined by shaking her head due to the language barrier. Although it would have helped with passing time, she would much rather enjoy the less-stuffy environment that she finally felt once Ivar was gone. She let out a heavy breath, giving a small smile towards Alfred as he made his way out of the room, taking his chess game with him.

Iona took the quiet time to rest her eyes. It was extremely hard for her to sleep when Ivar was present. But she knew he didn't feel the same way. The betrayal that she had witnessed from him had not only proven that her feelings were one-sided, but also that she was attracted to a selfish man. He reminded her of her father.

Unfortunately, her rest only lasted a few minutes. She quickly opened her eyes at the sound of the door opening, half-expecting Ivar to appear. But the person who stood there was Edwin, the young Saxon soldier that was kind enough to sneak food in for her. Saying a few words in Old English, he gestured for her to follow him.

Although she did not know what was going on, Iona had no choice but to cooperate in her defenseless state. She followed Edwin out of the castle, her eyes squinting from the bright daylight that she had been cooped up from for a while.

Her attention was put on the wagon where Ivar was currently sat on, looking down at something in his hand. He looked up after noticing her presence. Iona got onto the wagon with the help of Edwin, the smallest of touch from him causing the Viking prince to glare at the Saxon soldier.

"Where are they taking us?" Iona asked as she sat herself down. Although she didn't want to speak to Ivar, she had no choice. He was the only person she could actually communicate with.

Ivar looked at her, a bit shocked at her suddenly deciding to talk to him. "We're going home, back to Kattegat." His voice was soft and low, a change from how he usually spoke to her.

Iona nodded, looking at the King Ecbert's family who stood there watching as they departed. She gave a small smile once she spotted Edwin, who got out of his usual position to give her final wave goodbye.

"You seem quite close to that Christian," Ivar stated, a scowl filling his features.

Ignoring his statement, Iona took notice of Ragnar's absence. "Where is your father?"

"They're going to kill him." Ivar let out a grunt as he sat himself up, the grip of whatever was in his hand tightening.

Iona's eyes widened, confused at the sudden bluntness of the situation. "I'm sorry."

"Are you alright?" He asked. Iona furrowed her eyebrows at his sudden question, a little uncomfortable at his sudden change of mood.

She scoffed. "I should be the one asking you that. You just lost your father, you're probably not in the right mind."

"Your cuts." Shaking his head, Ivar focused on the cuts on her cheek that were slowly starting to heal. "Did they hurt you at all?"

"Only to defend themselves." Iona reached up to touch them, having forgotten about the wounds she had originally gotten from fighting with the soldiers before being captured by them.

"Are you alright?" She repeated the same question to him.

She watched as Ivar turned his head to look at the surrounding forest. His jaw clenching as he continued to think deeply about something. "I'm going to kill them. I'm going get revenge for my father, even if it's the last thing I do."


	7. Chapter 6

The entire ride back to Kattegat neither Ivar or Iona spoke to each other. It was an uncomfortable silence, one that they needed in order to look back at the events that happened the past couple of weeks. Although Iona's hatred for Ivar had died down a little bit, she still didn't feel like he could be trusted.

Ivar spent most of trip sleeping, due to his seasickness. Iona enjoyed watching the waves, and taking in the fresh air. After being trapped in a cell for who knows how long, she realized how much she really loved the outdoors.

When the boat finally arrived to Kattegat a couple of villagers helped her out of the boat, her body weak from the lack of food and warmth. She gave a nod to Ubbe and Sigurd, who stood at the dock ready to get their little brother.

In her case, she was doing much better than Ivar was. Ivar got out with the help of his brothers, his face pale and trying his best to hold onto his two brothers with as much strength as he could muster.

...

For Iona, the couple of weeks since she arrived in Kattegat were spent training. Her and Ivar were back to being strangers. The two would ignore one another, as if they had a mutual agreement to not acknowledge each other.

Iona heard about him, about how he went up to Queen Lagertha and challenged to fight her. He was crazy now, the death of both his parents taking a toll on his mentality. Even his own brothers were unsure of whether they could control what he was going to do. Maybe that was a sign, he was just so far out of reach that there was no point in even trying anymore. Their best choice was to forget about anything that happened between each other.

She sat next to Ubbe, sharing a drink with him as Ivar sat across from them. It was a quiet morning for the brothers, something that hadn't occurred for a long while. The three of them sat at the table in silence as Sigurd stood by the door, sharpening a piece of wood.

Iona watched as Ivar finally broke the silence, picking a fight with Sigurd over the knife that he was using.

"I want it." Ivar said, getting off of the chair and crawling towards Sigurd. "I will kill Lagertha with it."

Sigurd turned the other way stubbornly, shaking his head. "Well, you can't have it."

"That's enough." Ubbe intervened, shaking his head at his two little brothers.

The stool Sigurd sat on was suddenly pulled away and thrown across the room, causing him to land on his back and onto the hard floor. Ivar tried to grab the knife, but Sigurd sat up and straightened his arm to the ceiling, as if trying to prevent a child from getting something dangerous.

Iona and Ubbe shared a mutual look before they both got up to stop the two from hurting each other.

She went to get Sigurd, trying to pull him up by his shoulders. Suddenly, Ivar had head-butted him, causing the knife in Sigurd's hand to dig into her side, before finally being thrown onto the floor. Iona stepped back from the unexpected pain as Ubbe pulled the two away from each other.

"Get up! Hey!" Ubbe helped Sigurd up, looking at him warningly. "We have important decisions to make."

Ubbe went to grab the items that had fallen on the floor, his eyes moving to Iona and trailing down to her blood-covered hand.

"Are you alright?" Ubbe asked, he moved towards her, examining the large wound that was bleeding on her right side.

Iona let out a heavy breath, giving Ubbe a small smile. "I'm fine. Just resolve whatever conflict is going on between you and your brothers. I'll take care of it."

Ivar watched as she walked out of the room, his guilt growing as he noticed her struggling to keep the pain hidden.

Iona let out a hiss, grabbing a water-soaked cloth and cleaning her wound. She just wanted her father to come home so she could finally get out of this village. There was no reason for her to be here anymore, now that Lagertha was the new Queen of Kattegat.

A sudden knock on her door had caused her to stop. After putting on her shirt, she allowed whomever it was to enter. Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, she watched as Sigurd walked in. "Do you need something?"

Sigurd gave a grimace upon seeing her blood soaked shirt lying on the bed. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't dying because of me, the wound looked bad."

Iona went in the back to grab a cup and poured some water in it for Sigurd, grateful for his concern. "I'm fine, thank you for checking up on me."

Sigurd took the water, taking a sip of it as he looked around her small hut. "We spoke about our plans of revenge for our father. We want to make a great army, twice the size of the one my father took to Paris, and we want to go to England. So-"

"So you want me to convince my father to bring his men to join your army." Iona finished, and Sigurd nodded.

"I can try." Iona said, giving Sigurd a small smile. "But I don't have much authority over my father. He does what benefits him most."

"It's better than no help at all." Sigurd answered, before making his way towards her door. "Thank you."

A few days had gone by and Sigurd agreed to show Iona to the place where he usually had his axes made and upgraded, since she needed to get her daggers sharpened. Walking in, she and Sigurd mutually ignored Ivar, whom was sharpening his axe to the right of them.

"I still have a bone to pick with you, Sigurd." Ivar suddenly spoke as Sigurd handed his axe to the worker. "Why were you silent when I demanded justice from Lagertha?"

Iona looked up at Sigurd for a moment, watching as he let out a sigh before speaking. "We have different memories of Mother. She doted on you and she ignored me. She had eyes only for you, and for Harbard. To me, she was cold and distant."

A smirk grew on Ivar's face at his brothers words, "So you feel sorry for yourself?"

Iona looked back at Ivar, giving him a warning look to which he ignored.

"Poor little Sigurd." He continued, his voice fake with sympathy.

Sigurd grabbed his axe before putting it into his holster. "You're wrong, Ivar. I don't feel sorry for myself."

"Yeah. Right. No. Of course not." Ivar said sarcastically, "That's why you have to sleep with Harald's daughter, right? Just to feel as if you matter."

Before she even thought about doing it, Iona had thrown a dagger that was merely centimeters away from Ivar's head and landed into the wall behind him. "Don't bring me into your idiotic quarrels. Grow up."

Ivar chuckled at her response, "Ah, so you two are sleeping with each other?"

"I'm going to go get something to eat. I'll see you later, Sigurd." Iona scoffed, not wanting to involve herself with Ivar's stupid assumptions.

Walking out, she gave Ivar a glare.

Before she even knew it she had returned, "Don't forget our usual place, okay?" She added, a chuckle coming out when she noticed Ivar's eyebrows furrow in anger.

...

Iona, Ubbe, Margrethe, and Sigurd were sat together, the four discussing when the best time would be to kill Lagertha. To be fair, Iona didn't care much about whether or when Lagertha would be killed, but there wasn't much else for her to do in Kattegat.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't do it," Sigurd argued, "but think about it. If we-"

The door suddenly open, Hvitserk walked and his brothers immediately got up to greet him. Iona smiled at the reunion, wishing she was as close to her family as the brothers were.

"I heard you freed Margrethe. You want to marry her. I'm glad." Hvitserk took the time to walk up to the blonde and lightly brush her chin. "Just don't keep her all to yourself."

Hvitserk turned and his eyebrows raised at the sight of Iona and he gave her a smile, "Iona, glad to see you're getting along well with my brothers."

She mirrored his smile, "Great to see you again, Hvitserk."

"Your father should be back by now. You should go find him, I'm sure he's looking for you." Hvitserk said.

"Or you can just say you want me to leave." Iona said jokingly, getting up to leave.

Iona made her way to the docks, looking for anyone she was familiar with through the crowds of people. A sudden hand on her shoulder made her turn around, a smile making it's way onto her face when she realized that it was Gunnar.

Immediately, she was pulled into his embrace. "I missed you, a lot."

"I could say the same, but I was having such a great time here in Kattegat that I completely forgot about you." She smiled playfully, grabbing onto his arm and pulling him towards the hall.

Iona spent the almost the entire time telling her friend about what happened in England, minus the Ivar parts. The two sat at the table together, telling each other about their different adventures and stories. Although, her stories ended up with her being scolded by her tall friend for being stupid and risking her life.

"King Harald is here," Gunnar said, gesturing to her father and uncle who were making their way towards the two.

Iona got up and gave her uncle a hug, about ready to sit down before getting a warning look from her father. Right, they were being watched. She gave her father a hug before a fake smile plastered on her face and she greeted her family.

"Gunnar, you wouldn't mind if I stole my daughter to speak to her alone, would you?" Harald hadn't even waited for Gunnar's response before leading his daughter outside to an empty spot behind some shops.

"Do you have anything to tell me?" Her father asked, a serious look on his face.

Iona shrugged, "No."

Before she knew it, her cheek was stinging from the sudden slap by her father. "Not only do you neglect your duties, but you don't think I heard from the villagers that you went to England, with Ragnar Lothbrok, of all people?"

Iona let out a breath, not responding to her father. Another slap. She clenched her teeth as she gave him a glare.

"You are the daughter of a King. Do your job properly. If you ever embarrass me like that again, I will not hesitate to have you killed. Do you hear me?" Harald spat onto the ground, his eyes moved to the girl, waiting for a response.

"Yes, Father." She said through gritted teeth. A weapon. That was all she was.


	8. Chapter 7

The sounds of crickets and the rustling of trees filled the quiet village. During that time of the night not even a single light was on, the only noticeable brightness being the moon in the sky. Iona let out a deep breath as she sat by the small pond. There was something about being near water that calmed the Princess, if she could even call herself that.

The village of Kattegat had an effect on her, one that made her realize her true worth. Iona began thinking things that she would have never thought while being cooped in her father's world.

She didn't have to live as the Princess of Vestfold or the Princess of all Norway. It was time to do things to her own accord, to fight for what she believed in, and to defend herself from anyone that tried to stop her.

With her significant amount of time spent in Kattegat, she observed and noted the weaknesses. Something that could be used to an advantage if trying take control of the famous village. And if she wanted, she could have told her father about the weak defenses, about how simple it would be to just bring in an army and take the village away.

But that wasn't she wanted. She wanted nothing to do with the throne, or any throne as a matter of fact.

What she wanted was to make father, King Harald, suffer as much as she did.

Gunnar stood against Iona's hut, waiting for her appearance. After noticing King Harald's angered attitude and red palms, the young Viking went to look for the missing Princess in order to comfort her.

Walking back to her place, Iona noticed the tall figure, that she could recognize anywhere, leaning against the small structure. "Harald send you?"

"No, he didn't." Gunnar said, moving towards the small girl in the darkness, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

She smiled, making her towards the door. She gestured for him to follow her to which he complied. "Well, I'm still alive."

After lighting the few candles in her room, Gunnar had taken notice of the red, hand-shaped mark on her cheek. "He hit you harder than usual, didn't he?"

He moved his hand to caress the red skin, which Iona had quickly pushed away due to the stinging that worsened with touch. She went to grab a towel, pouring water onto it before gently pressing it against her irritated cheek.

"My father's temper has been getting worse as his greed grows."

"That doesn't excuse him treating you like a slave." Gunnar took a seat on the bed and Iona moved to her friend, turning her back towards him as he loosened the ties that kept her shirt on. His fingers softly brushed the skin on her back, which she quickly moved away from to grab more comfortable clothes. "You're just going to continue letting him act like that?"

"I don't think you should be speaking that way while serving in his army." She warned, turning away from him as she changed out of her outfit and into her nightdress.

Gunnar went to lean his head against his fist, making himself more comfortable as he kept his eyes on the girl's lean figure. "My loyalty remains to you, not your father."

She didn't respond, going to grab a piece of leftover bread from earlier that day. When she handed him a small piece, he questioningly raised his eyebrows at the girl. For years since they have known each other, Iona would tell him everything. Her silence signaled that something was going on.

"Are you planning something, Iona?"

Although she trusted Gunnar, she kept silent, moving towards the door and opening it before gesturing for him to leave. "It's late. I just want to sleep, Gunnar."

"I'll stop pestering if you let me spend the night." He insisted, a familiar look on his face.

Iona shook her head at her friend before letting out a small sigh. It had been a while since she had seen him. It had also been awhile since she spent any time with a man.

"You have to leave before dawn." She said, glancing outside as her eyes moved around the area to make sure there was no one around. Closing the door, she decided not to mention anything about the familiar bounded legs she saw disappearing into the darkness.

The next morning, Iona had woken up with the sunlight shining through her window. Gunnar kept his word, leaving before she even noticed. After washing up and getting dressed, she decided to go look for the person she remembered seeing outside of her hut the night before.

It was around noon, the streets of Kattegat were as busy as they usually were around that time. The sounds of villagers chattering filled the air, which only seemed to make Iona's search a little more difficult. She had originally gone to the sons of Ragnar's place where Sigurd and Hvitserk had no idea about Ivar's current location.

Eventually, she had gone to the training grounds in the woods where she had found the person she was looking for. The crippled Prince was practicing his axe-throwing. Iona watched silently for a couple of minutes before finally deciding to speak.

"The angry Prince is angry, what a surprise."

Ivar turned, glaring at the girl stood behind him before continuing his intense session of axe-throwing. "What do you want?"

"I should be asking you the same thing, Ivar." Iona scoffed, going to lean towards one of the trees. "What were you doing outside of my place last night?"

Ivar halted his throwing before tossing the axe in his hand onto the grass. He grabbed onto the tree stump he was sat on, using his strength to turn towards the Princess. A smirk grew on his face once he made eye-contact with her. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Oh, sorry." she replied sarcastically, "I probably mistook you for another cripple that lives in this village, correct?"

Ivar shrugged, amusement in his eyes as he noticed how irritated she had become. "Maybe. Maybe not."

Tired of the immaturity of the Prince, Iona had gotten up and was about to leave without any words. She gave him a glare as she turned towards the village.

Before she was out of hearing range, Ivar spoke once more. "And if it was me?"

"Well, if it was you," Iona turned back, her lips slightly pursed as she walked towards the youngest son of Ragnar. She grabbed an empty cup, pouring it with water before taking a seat on the tree stump next to him. "I just wanted to know why you would spy on me, as if whatever I was doing is any your business."

"If it was me," Ivar continued, "I would say that since you are in my village, it is my business if one of my guests were whoring around."

A loud laugh had suddenly erupted from the girl, "If I remembered correctly, this is Lagertha's village now, is it not?"

"Don't test me, Iona." Ivar said, his jaw clenching in annoyance at her words.

"Don't accuse me of whoring around when you know nothing, Ivar."

His eyes stayed on the girl for a while, his heartbeat racing faster as their argument had suddenly ended with silence. Iona felt the same way, she gulped, trying to stop the vivid thoughts that were going through her head. Ivar licked his lips before grabbing his axe and crawling onto the ground, about to make his way through the trees and away from the dangerous girl.

"Ivar," she had barely whispered his name but it was enough for him to stop, turning to see what she had to say, "I wish we hadn't stopped what we did in England."

Ivar froze, unsure of how to respond to her words. It was the first time a woman had ever found interest in him. Not any of his brothers, but him. Even for Iona, those words were words she had never spoken before. She felt vulnerable and weak, but she couldn't help herself. She missed the feeling of being around Ivar, the feelings that she had the chance to experience before meeting him.

"No." Ivar shook his head, thinking back to the scene he saw the night before of Gunnar taking off her clothing. "If you want pleasure, go screw one of my brothers. You seem to enjoy jumping from man to man."

Ivar really saw her as that. Just a woman who wanted men for pleasure. The hurt from his words showed in Iona's eyes, and she gave him a humorless smile.

"Maybe I will." In a flash, the girl had angrily stormed away. Never was she going to show vulnerability in front of a man again.

"Can I ask you why you are looking for me, Iona?" Lagertha was sat next to the Princess of Vestfold in the Great Hall. The Queen had taken notice of the girl before, she was quiet, liked to do things on her own, and didn't seem to care much for political matters, even if she was a Princess.

The young girl was clean, almost too clean. Seeing her seemed to only make Lagertha more weary of her intentions.

"I want to speak to you, Queen Lagertha," Iona said, her fingers tapping on the table as she maintained eye contact with the woman in front of her, "alone."

Lagertha nodded before looking at Torvi and Astrid, directing them to leave. Noticing the looks between the second and third-in-command, Iona gave them a small smile. She unbuckled her holster, giving her weapons to them in order to show that she meant no harm. The two then hesitantly made their way out of the Great Hall.

"I'm not very good with negotiations," Iona admitted, looking around the empty hall.

"I couldn't tell." Lagertha said, her voice serious but her eyes filled with amusement.

Iona let out a heavy breath, her eyes closing for a moment. "I have been informed you are sending a large portion of your army to England for the revenge of Ragnar Lothbrok. They are leaving in a week, yes?"

"Yes, they are."

"While that occurs, I recommend that you keep a significant amount of your warriors here, in Kattegat. You don't know what will happen." Iona continued.

Lagertha furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes hooded as she looked at the girl in front of her. "Are you threatening me, Iona, daughter of Harald?"

"No, not at all." Iona shook her head, "I would to classify it more as a warning."

"Who are you warning me of?"

"If I tell you," Iona got up from her seat, taking a look at the stuffed animal heads hanging around the walls, "you have to promise to hold off your actions until after they come back from England."

Lagertha gave a deep breath, her eyes on the suspicious girl in front of her. "We'll see."

"If that's not a 'yes', I think it best for me to leave." Iona slowly walked towards the door before being stopped.

"Iona," Lagertha continued, "you do know that I can capture you and force it out of you."

"Queen Lagertha," Iona retorted, "you do know that doing so would cause a war between Kattegat and my father's lands."

It was a lie. To be fair, her father probably wouldn't have cared less if she did get captured. But nobody knew that, not even the Queen of Kattegat.

"I promise." Lagertha finally agreed, the light shining off of her blonde hair. "I will hold off my actions until after England. But when you tell me who, you have to tell me why."

Iona nodded, taking her seat next to Lagertha. "My father, King Harald, has been talking of how your defenses will be weak once most of your men are in England. I believe he is going to use that time to attack Kattegat."

"And why must I wait until after England to take action? If I get rid of him now, I would not have to fight them and lose any of my people." Lagertha seemed to be deep in thought, wanting to get rid of King Harald as soon as possible.

"Without my father's men, the Great Army would be much smaller and the sons of Ragnar would be at a disadvantage while in England. That is why I want to wait until after England, after my friends have succeeded in avenging their father." Iona smirked, amused at the Queen's expression after hearing her answer. "I'm sure you want them to be successful, also."

Lagertha squinted her eyes, confused at the Princess' betrayal towards her own father. But she didn't seem to have any problems with Iona's requests. "And why should I trust you?"

"You have no way of knowing whether to trust me or not." Iona admitted, "but think about it, there is nothing I could possibly benefit off of you making your defenses stronger."

"I see." Lagertha said, her suspicion of the Princess seemed to be dying down. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want Harald to suffer as much as he has made me suffer all of my life."


End file.
